Review

I received the Sony a35 or SLT-A35 about 3 weeks ago and in this Hands on Review I will cover everything you need to know including Sample Photos, HD Video Samples, Hands on Input, Advice ect…

The A35 is Sony’s current introductory SLT (translucent Mirror Technology) Camera featuring a 16.2mp Image processor and goes for $599.99 (Camera Body Only). It’s capable of shooting 5.5fps continuous and 7fps in the Tele-zoom High Speed mode. The a35 features an A-mount lens housing which supports a ton of lenses! Check them all out over Here after you read this review! The HD Video capabilities are also quite impressive at 1920 x 1080/ 60i, especially for the price point of this camera!

To Start off this review I just wanted to preface that I last reviewed the Sony Nex-C3 and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and camera, but when I got my hands on the Sony A35 I felt much more at home. I didn’t expect I would say that, but the larger camera body and all the physical buttons on the camera make usability much easier. On the Nex-C3 you only have a few physical buttons that you can program to access those ever so important features like metering mode, WB, exposure comp, focus mode, shooting modes, etc…. The Sony Alpha 35 has all those buttons right at your fingertips, so you don’t have to hunt through a menu system which from a usability perspective is much faster and better in my opinion.

Please keep in mind I’m an experienced photographer, so depending on your skill level and intentions with the camera, this might not be the biggest deal to you. For me however, it was huge and incredible apparent once I had the DSLR style camera body in my hands vs the Nex style camera body. That being said, the Nex-7 looks like it address a lot of these issues with it’s dials and viewfinder, so I can’t wait to get my hands on that little powerhouse!!

Moving back to the Sony Alpha 35 review, I chose the Sony SAL-1680Z DT Carl Zeiss 16-80mm f/3.5-4.5 Zoom Lens for a mate to this camera body as it’s pretty much the best professional grade all around lens available 😉 The other lens I considered was the Sony SAL-16105 DT 16-105mm f/3.5-5.6 Zoom Lens, but it’s just not the same quality and I really wanted to show off the A35’s image quality as accurately as possible. On a side note, all my Canon Lenses are L glass which makes me a bit spoiled in the optical department, but it also makes me used to seeing razor sharp images through top quality optics. Therefore the better optics makes it easier and more fair for the camera being reviewed, in this case the Alpha 35. Pardon the rambling, but I like to explain my methods for those who wonder.

I also shot exclusively in jpeg mode as the Raw program provided by Sony is horrible on my Mac and Adobe has yet to release the raw codecs for the A35 🙁 Come on Adobe!! Jpeg mode is great though on this camera and a lot of the features require you use jpeg mode anyway as they are not available in Raw. AutoHDR is one of those features that only works in jpeg mode.

High Res Photos:

Lets get a closer look at the Sony Alpha 35 and be sure to Click on the images for a nice large Gallery style view!! Once in gallery view you can hover over the image and navigate to the next and previous photos. Also note the image info is on the bottom of each photo. All the photos in this review are also available in my Sony Alpha 35 Full Resolution Sample Photo Gallery >>

I purchased the a35 about 2 weeks ago and absolutely love this camera. Your review is the best hands-on that I have read and I greatly appreciate the time and expertise that you have put into it. Your notes about the live view during change of the white balance settings, your choice of lenses and your comments on the auto iso settings were the most helpful of any tips I have seen so far. Great use of photos to back up your statements regarding HDR and the exceptional resolution of this small, light camera with a very low price point. Cannot thank you enough for enhancing my use of this beautiful camera. Please keep up the good work. Already bought the cam from B&H and now plan to buy the cz lens from them also.

That is awesome to hear! Thank you so much for your comments and taking the time explain what you liked about the review. I really try to approach my reviews from a photographer point of view and it seems to work out pretty well for most people. The ISO tip in particular is very important, and I’m really surprised Sony defaults the shutter speed so slow for a camera like this. It really makes it a little harder to use for the total beginner and I could see some people getting very frustrated from blurry pics if your taking pics like I did of the Dogs or whatever. Landscapes would probably be fine on AutoISO though 😉

As far as the lens goes, I really think that the Carl Zeiss 16-80mm is the best all around A-mount lens for the money 😉 If you can only have 1 lens, this is a great choice!

Feel free to ask questions if you have any and I will try my best to answer them!

Thanks for your comments and kind words 🙂 As far as your question is concerned the A35 is no good for studio work due to the OLED (electronic Viewfinder). The fact that your not actually looking through the lens is the issue. On a tradition SLR you can see through the actual lens and your not looking at a little TV like the a35. This allows you to use manual mode and have the camera set to whatever is needed for the studio environment and still be able to see through the camera to compose your scene, focus, etc..

A typical lighting set-up that I use in the studio is Manual Mode – f/8 @ 1/160sec, ISO 100. Now, if you could imagine what looking through the Sony a35 in Manual Mode set to those settings would look like??
The screen would be pitch black and you would not be able to focus or anything where as on my Traditional SLR Studio Camera I can see through the glass no matter what the camera is set to.

If you really want to use studio lights your going to need a traditional SLR like the Sony a390, or a580 for example.

No worries Frank 🙂 Happy to help! As far asSony and the future for Pro’s, I wish I knew. I know there working on a new Full Frame 36 megapixel camera, but it’s unkown what the specs will be. Sony does offer the A580 though and that is Studio capable as it has a traditional Moving Mirror. I’ll be getting that camera at some point, but I would rather get the a77 first!! 😉

Hi this is a very good review of Sony Alpha a35. I am interested in this model and Sony Nex-5n. This is the 1st time i am buying a interchangeable lens camera so i am very confused but one thing i have decided i want a Sony. I am a huge Sony fan. I have done my research and i know Canon and Nikon are leaders in this field but i dont have any lens to start with so i can choose my brand. Maybe Canon and Nikon is little better but it also depends on the photographer and how he takes picture. So please can you help me decide which camera should i buy – Sony Alpha a35 or Sony Nex-5n. Since they are almost the same price i am having a hard time deciding. I wont be buying a camera after this for a long time. Which has the better picture quality? flexibility? more easy to use? etc. Please help.

Thanks for your comments and you raised a very good question that requirers a lengthly answer. So I decide to create an article on just your question. Which is better, the a35 or the Nex5n? Based on Quality, Usability, Cost.

@ JAY Hi thank you very much and i really appreciate you making an article on my question rather than just an answer. I have checked it and i will surly let you know which camera i will buy.
@FRANK i am not a pro and i dont think i will go that way but whenever i go out i like to click photos of landscapes and good views so picture quality is a priority. I want to upgrade from my Sony point and shoot camera and my options are nex-5n and a35.

Jay, thanks again for your insight to the A35. As a result, I bought one the other and I’m loving it. Easy to use and yet picture quality is very good.

As you mentioned, the battery life isn’t the best and I was wondering if a battery grip would make a noticeable difference? It seems Sony haven’t made one yet (Bad Sony!!) and only Ownuser are making one to suit.

Thanks for the comments and question also!! Unfortunately I don’t have any experience with a sony battery grip or any other brand for the sony. At some point Sony will come out with one I’m sure. I would recommend waiting for a good quality battery grip and get a bunch of extra batteries. Possible an extra charger as well, because it takes forever to charge Sony batteries for some reason.

Having the extra battery in a battery grip usually gives you about twice the life. Some cameras can use 1 battery or the other, and other cameras pull from both batteries at the same time. It depends on the camera etc.. Definitely a good investment if it’s available.

A small negative to a battery grip worth noting is the camera is more likely to shack on the tri-pod due to a higher center of gravity in relation to the mounting point. It’s noticeable on my 5D Mark II, so I would assume it would be on other cameras as well. The grip has a tiny bit of flex witch results in a bit of sag at the lens end. Really noticeable in Macro photography!!

thank you for this test
difficult for me to make a choice for alpha 35 vs alpha 580
and I still hesitate because of the reliability problems of my former alpha 100 (especially the poor autofocus and break of the frame supporting the captor when I used the dust cleaning system)

Thanks for your comments and kind words! The Autofocus is really good on both cameras, but the a580 is a little better in my opinion. The A580 is also great in the studio environment if you ever want to do that sort of thing.

This is the kind of review we real world users need. Earlier had read your review on A77. Very impressed with the treatment you give. BTW in SONYALPHALAB why news about the Cannikons?Bit fanatic eh? Come from Minolta” lineage” 😉

I just purchased my 1st DSLR, a Sony A35. While I’m loving it, I still have a lot to learn! A bit overwhelming compared to my iphone camera! 🙂 You posted on comment on a previous writers post:
“The ISO tip in particular is very important, and I’m really surprised Sony defaults the shutter speed so slow for a camera like this. It really makes it a little harder to use for the total beginner and I could see some people getting very frustrated from blurry”.

For the life of me, I can’t find this tip. Can you please repost? I am experiencing frustration with blurry pictures & am wondering if I should have gone with the Nikon instead? Or just user error?

The ISO tip is in the review itself, but basically what I was saying was this:

Take the camera off Auto ISO and raise it up so your shutter speed is at least the focal length of the lens or more. Depending on how steady your hand is, and what lens your using, shutter speed is critical to getting sharp shots!! I ended up using ISO 400 a lot of the time for example in stead of Auto ISO which was picking ISO 200 for me.

Thank you very much!! I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to get the A37, because I’m still working on getting the Sony RX1, and the Sony Alpha A99. Those two cameras are my top priority after the Nex-6 review is done 😉 After that if I have time I will certainly try to get the Sony Alpha A37!!

Great review! Due to your review I just bought the a37 model as my first DSRL (or DSLT in this case). I have a question though. Is it possible to change the position of the metering spot? It seems to be stucked right in the middle.

You can’t move the metering spot, but you can move the camera and then press the AEL (auto exposure lock) button. that will lock the exposure for you. You can then re-frame the shot without the exposure changing. You can also change your metering modes, but they range from averaging the whole scene to more precise in the center. You can also use your exposure compensation to help swing things one way or the other.

Hi Jay! I have the Sony a-35 and am wondering if you can give some info on shooting fireworks. Everywhere I look it talks about delaying the bulb or something, but I’m not sure what that means or how to do it with this camera. We’re going to Disney soon, and I could REALLY use some advise!!!!!!! Anything will be helpful and much appreciated.

Sure can and don’t worry it’s really easy!! Set your camera to the S, which stands for shutter priority mode, and make sure the camera is on a sturdy tri-pod. Set the ISO to 100 and Not on Auto. Take your time and find a good spot to set-up. I would start with the camera at about 4 seconds and then move to longer 8 second exposures from there. That should yeild you some really great results. You can go for longer, but the bright areas will start to blow out and become distracting. To get really long exposures you can use the bulb trick and cover the lens in between firework explosions, but this takes a bit more practice for good results, and your likely to miss a lot of otherwise good shots you could have gotten. By all means experiment, but go for the shutter priority shots as a safe bet first.